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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Collection Development Alert: Stoker Preliminary Ballot

Contrary to popular belief, Halloween is NOT the best time to work on your horror collection, rather it is during award season-- just like any genre. It is frustrating that no one thinks mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, etc... can only be updated, weeded, and assessed during a single month each year. Bur Horror, you all only seriously think about your readers and collections from September 1- November 1.

Now, I know I am being harsh there and that the work I do has done much to change this, but it is kinda true.

I am here to remind you that often, genre awards times are the best times to assess your collections. As I have outlined in this popular post on RA for All, awards lists, particularly long lists of authors in contention for an award, are an amazing collection development tool. It is the easiest way to identify a core list of exemplary authors in a genre at that time.

Now that is not to say that the authors who appear on awards long lists are the only ones worth your attention. But, it is a great place to start as you assess the state of your holdings.

Earlier this week, as a member of the Horror Writers Association, I received the preliminary ballot for the 2015 Bram Stoker Awards. I am posting it here for all of you library workers for the exact reason I stated above, to use as a collection development tool.

As you will see below, many authors and titles I championed over the last few years are represented here. But there are also many who I think are worthy to have in your horror collections right now who are not here [and I have a track record of being right about those authors].

So today, start using this list to assess your current horror collections, and over the next few months, check back here on the blog often as I will be writing more frequently about books and authors you need to keep on your radar.

Again, remember, people read horror all the year through. Don’t let your collections languish until the Fall. Make it your goal to pay attention to all of your genre collections on a more regular basis.

Ok, enough grandstanding, here is the preliminary ballot. Now get to work.The 2015 Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot Announced

Ron Breznay and Rena Mason, Co-Chairs, Bram Stoker Awards® Committee

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Preliminary Ballot for the 2015 Bram Stoker Awards (given out in 2016). The HWA (see www.horror.org) is the premiere writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987 (see www.horror.org/awards/stokers.htm).

The HWA Board and the Bram Stoker Awards Committee congratulate all those appearing on the Preliminary Ballot. Notes about the voting process appear after the ballot listing. The Preliminary Ballot is:

Our voting members will now vote on this Preliminary Ballot, with voting closing on February 15 (only Active and Lifetime Members are eligible to vote).

Works appearing on the Preliminary Ballot are NOT “Bram Stoker Award nominees” and authors, editors, publishers, and others should not refer to any of these works as such – doing so is a severe breach of etiquette – voting members tend to notice such breaches and may consider them when determining which works to vote for on the Ballot.

The Final Ballot (Bram Stoker Award nominees for 2015 calendar year) will be announced on February 23. Winners will be announced on May 14th at the gala awards presentation held in the iconic Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the first annual StokerCon (see http://www.stokercon2016.com for more information).

About Me

I am a Librarian [MLIS] in Illinois specializing in serving leisure readers ages 13 and up. I train library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through their local public library. I am the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2d edition (ALA Editions, 2012). I am under contract to write content for EBSCO's NoveList database, Booklist and Indie Picks Magazine , am a member of the Adult Reading Round Table Steering Committee, a 5 term Trustee for my local library, and am a proud member of The Horror Writers' Association. Check out the side bar for links to the groups and organizations with which I am affiliated.